Sherman's Security Blog
I am Sherman Hand. (also known as Policysup) I have created this blog and will use a part of my day to write about what is going on in the world. I hope to discuss things in a down to earth and practical way. I hope to hear back from you on your thoughts. I do not in any way intend to speak for my employer. The content of this blog will be either opinions that are strictly mine, general observations,re posts, or information that is already in the public domain.

Just a few days after news circulated that AOL was bringing its own RSS reader to the web, the company launched on Monday its response to the nearly defunct Google Reader.

AOL Reader — which bears the tagline “all your favorite websites, in one place” for both desktop and mobile devices — aims to make reading content from around the Internet easier, engaging and more social. It comes with a clean, organized interface and is extremely intuitive to use.

The launch comes just one week before Google Reader shuts down for good, which has upset many of its dedicated users and even sparked a White House petition to keep it running. Since then, other companies are looking for a slice of the reader pie. In fact, Facebook is rumored to be experimenting with its own RSS feed — possibly a Flipboard competitor — and Digg is also poised to launch its on RSS reader on June 26.

Although AOL Reader will likely be a true contender in the RSS space, especially with Google Reader on its way out, it’s not reinventing the wheel. Some nice bells and whistles include sharing content across Facebook, Twitter and Google+, the ability to save articles for future reading and an API for developers and third party apps. You can also tag articles for archiving.

Here’s how it works: After signing up with an AOL account, which can be created for free, you’re prompted to add new subscriptions or import your old ones.

To add a new subscription, simply select various categories such as technology and entertainment. AOL Reader populates each category with some media outlets, but you can also type in a particular organization to follow. After subscribing, a list of stories appears in a feed via its headlines; the most recent stories are listed first.

After clicking on a link, the story and lead image enlarge. By clicking it, you will be redirected to the article’s page on the outlet’s website. As you add new subscriptions, they will be added to the left-hand toolbar and can be later filtered by the content you want to read.

For a full walkthrough on AOL Reader, check out the gallery above. To sign up now, click here.